Chapter 333: Bloody Graduation (2/2)

Looking at their angry faces, I was suddenly overcome with a deep sense of fragility and despair. What Deng Chao wanted was exactly this! At the time he was taken away by the police, the entire school watched on with contempt and mockery in their eyes. And now, I was given a taste of being targeted.

Seeing that I had nothing to say, a few boys charged towards me, ready to use their fists. Dali and a few of my close friends immediately stood in front of me, blocking them.

”Can’t you be reasonable?” shouted Dali. “Deng Chao’s the one who did all this. Why blame Song Yang?”

”But he isn’t here!” retorted a red-faced burly boy. “Who’s the cause of all this? He’s the culprit!”

The crowd echoed in succession, pushing forward but Dali and the others retaliated just as hard. Very quickly, the two sides got into a brawl.

I clenched my fist, helpless in stopping the situation from escalating. Then, a voice sounded from behind, ”Stop it! Anyone who strikes again can say goodbye to your certificate!”

With that, the boys stopped fighting. At the sight of Dali's scratched and bruised face, I was filled with complex emotions.

The person who spoke out to maintain order was the dean, holding a megaphone in his hand. ”Song Yang,” he beckoned. “Can we have a word?”

I headed to the back of the stage where the university leaders were sitting. ”We roughly understand the situation. It’s nothing more than a criminal who wants to retaliate against you. It’s really unfair to blame you. But as you can see, our Headmaster Cao is already in his seventies. We don't know what will happen next. How can he stand the mental and physical stress? Can we discuss with the police to let some of the school leaders leave first?”

”Didn't you hear him?” I frowned. “If someone leaves, he’ll kill the hostages.”

“I’m only asking you to let a few people go!” he smiled.

”I can't make the decision. I'm really sorry,” I apologized.

One of the professors interrupted, ”Let me put this bluntly. The hostages held by the criminal are just a bunch of children. We all understand that human life cannot be measured by numbers, but do you think he’ll really let anyone go? It’s impossible to save the children and more innocent lives will be taken. Isn’t this exactly what the criminal wants?”

The dean chimed in, ”That’s right. In my opinion, we can't be weak when dealing with criminals. We have to be tough and we can't meet his demands. This will only indulge him! If he dares kill the hostages, there will naturally be legal sanctions.”

At this point, I was already choking with rage. I couldn't listen to their hypocritical words any longer. ”Alright, that’s enough!” I shouted. “You’ve said a lot but what you really mean is your life is worth more than the lives of others. What if your own children were kidnapped? I beg you, please cooperate with the police for the time being. I will do my best to protect everyone!”

”Protect us?” scoffed a professor. “You make it sound as if that’s possible. Do you take this to be your home so you can do whatever you want here?!” He turned to the dean, “Let’s just leave now!”

The school leaders got up and left. When the students saw this, they too followed them out. I was disheartened by the selfish nature of human beings. A few irrelevant children meant nothing to them.

Just as the crowd was clamoring to leave, a new image was projected onto the curtain–it was entrepreneur Bai Lei.